Irish Immigrants to the United States

The Irish Famine caused the first mass migration of Irish people to the United States. The effects of the Irish Potato Famine continued to spur on Irish immigration well into the 20th century after the devastating fungus that destroyed Ireland's prized potato crops died out in 1850.

Starvation and diseased claimed around a million lives during 1845-1850, which lead to almost twice that number to emigrate to other countries, including a majority into the United States. The lack of industry and overall poverty that remained constant in the region brought many impoverished Catholic farmers and laborers into the U.S.

Irish Famine Immigrants, 1846-1851

This immigration record collection includes more than 604,000 immigrants from Ireland during the Great Famine, covering the years 1846 through 1851, and arriving at the Port of New York. Immigrants from other countries are also included, such as Canada, Brazil, Russia, and Morocco.

Notes:
The information in this database was provided by the National Archives and Records Administration and contains official extracts from the arrival records at the Port of New York between January 1, 1846 and December 31, 1851. More than 70 percent of those included in the database are of Irish origin, while the remaining 30 percent are from 32 other countries including Canada, Brazil, Morocco, Russia, and others throughout Europe. This information was originally compiled by the Center for Immigration Research at the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies.